In Between
by Misoso
Summary: She got caught up in the wrong crowd and now she's paying the price while ironically enough a mute boy is trying to get her to speak up. Lightis. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know what you're thinking but no, your eyes do not deceive you**

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_~Somehow I got caught in between, between my pride and my promise. Between my lies and how the truth gets in the way~_

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She scrunched the empty energy bar wrapper and tossed it into a nearby bin. Not checking to see if it landed in or not, she hurriedly kept her pace. She glanced at her watch before shaking her head and stuffing her hand back into her hoodie. Serah wouldn't be too happy with her now. It was now 16:00, Serah's ballet class ended half an hour ago. She had detention after school for being late this morning, which was technically due to Serah but she didn't dwell on that, no use trying to blame it on someone else.

Lightning waited impatiently at the traffic lights. Rush hour was about to begin and the number of cars started to increase rapidly. She hated not having a car of her own and was in the process of saving up for one. She tapped her foot impatiently, staring intensely at the light to turn green. Not being able to wait any longer, as soon as the cars began to stop she half-jogged across the road weaving through the pedestrians and ignoring the disapproving looks thrown at her. She was almost there. The dance studio was actually a part of the Palumpolum Community Centre which was a medium sized building used by people who had nothing better to do with their lives. It had a swimming pool (where they both learned to swim when they were younger), basketball court, a small gym, cafeteria, and table tennis, basically anything to keep a bored person entertained. A dance studio was recently a new addition, mostly to encourage more people to use the centre. As she turned the corner of the block, the building came into sight. Lightning quickened her pace towards the entrance where she pushed through the heavy glass doors. There were more people at that time in the afternoon. Mostly high school students hanging around with their friends. She hurried to her right through a narrow hallway towards the end where Dance Studio was printed across the glass doors. She held her breath and prayed Serah wouldn't get too mad and reluctantly pushed the door open.

She heard voices talking as she stepped in when they suddenly ceased. Two pairs of eyes landed on her. One pair looked extremely annoyed.

"You see? Your sister didn't forget about you." A soothing voice said. It was the ballet teacher, Yuna Braska. She was dressed in a black leotard with dark purple sweat pants and her short hair tied up in a bun. How she managed to do that was beyond Lightning.

"She might as well have forgotten, considering how late it is" grumbled a young voice.

"Sorry about that" panted Lightning. She didn't realise how out of breath she was. "I got caught up at school."

"Suure you did. Or you were running around with that gang of yours." Serah retorted.

Lightning sighed, she expected this would happen.

"It's alright Serah, she's here. That's all that matters now." Yuna said, trying to ease the tension in the room. "You and Mog can go home and watch your favourite TV show."

"We will miss it by the time we get home. Thanks to her." Serah hopped off the stool she was sitting on and grabbed her back pack before stomping her way towards Lightning who kept the glass door open to let her though. Before Lightning left she spared a glance at Yuna, who gave her a sympathetic smile, she nodded in thanks and quickly followed her sister.

For the first five minutes, Serah decided to give her the silent treatment. She just marched on ahead, feet thumping on the ground for added effect, just to let Lightning know that she was mad. The next ten minutes Serah would turn her head to her right and whisper something into the air before giggling and stealing glances at Lightning. "Yeah you're right. She does look like it!" Was a snippet of the conversation that floated towards her.

"Hmm, I know right? What kind of person does that? Especially towards their own family members."

If she was trying to make Lightning feel guilty then she was doing it right. No matter how it looked to outsiders, she knew everything was her fault. The way Serah was, the way she was now.

All her fault.

"Serah?" she asked tentatively. Serah just kept on walking. "You want some ice cream?" That seemed to get her attention as she halted. Lightning waited patiently for her answer as the younger sibling contemplated over the proposition.

That was one thing about kids. All things could be forgiven with the proposal of something sweet. At least she hoped it could.

"Can Mog and I have double scoops?"

Lightning felt a surge of relief, in a way, she had accepted her apology. "Of course."

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"So there's a new girl in my class today," Serah said as she coloured in her latest drawing on Lightning's bedroom floor.

Lightning hummed in response as she tried to finish her maths homework. She chewed on the end of her pen which was a really bad habit she picked up when she struggled to work something out.

"She's weird."

Lightning took the pen out of her mouth and asked absentmindedly. "How so?"

"She's so quiet. Like seriously quiet. I didn't hear a word from her all day."

"Mmm maybe she's just shy or something. Being the new girl is hard."

"Nah, she's just weird. Right Mog?" There was a slight pause as Lightning assumed Mog was agreeing with her.

"Ugh!"

Lightning quickly swivelled around, startled by the sudden outburst. It happened so often though, she wondered why she would still get these frights. "What's wrong?"

"The pink went out the line! Now the picture's ruined!" shouted Serah. She held up the drawing to show Lightning.

"It's not that bad. You can hardly see it."

"Are you blind?" she asked incredulously. "I can't stick this up now!" She began crumpling the piece of paper and tossed it at the bin. When she missed she got even more frustrated, picked up her crayons and threw them as well before running out the room.

Lightning leaned her face into her hands for a few moments before running her fingers through her hair. She then got up and started picking up the discarded crayons, she knew Serah would want them later. She came across the crumpled paper and picked it up. Carefully she unfolded it, making sure not to tear the edges. She looked at the contents for a few seconds and sighed before curling it up into a ball and throwing into the bin.

* * *

Lightning made sure she arrived on time today. She didn't need a repeat of yesterday. In fact, she was ten minutes early which she hated because there was nothing to do than wait. She wasn't a morning person at all and had no desire to interact with her classmates. She plugged her earphones in and propped her hood up before leaning on the table. She turned up the volume on her phone to block out all the mindless chatter of the students. Since she normally didn't show up this early, Fang and Vanille probably wouldn't come look for her. She closed her eyes and let the music overwhelm her, for ten minutes she would be away from everything and everyone.

Unfortunately time does pass when you're having 'fun' and as soon as she drifted off the school bell cut through the song, indicating the start of another seven hours of prison.

She groaned and tucked her earphones and cellphone away. If Mr T (A.K.A Mr Wallace) caught any of them on their cellphones, it usually meant confiscation.

"Alright dimwits, settle down. I said SETTLE DOWN!" Immediate silence followed. It wasn't wise to disobey Mr T. Some say he wrestled a grizzly bear and won which wasn't really much of a surprise since he resembled one. In fact, the resemblance was almost uncanny. (It is also notable to mention that he had a prosthetic arm as well but that is another story)

Once he was happy that he had everyone's attention he spoke again. "So we have a new student joining us. Only Etro knows why he decided to enroll here which is beyond me. Nonetheless, I for once, would like someone who isn't as incompetent as you fools so you better not mess him up alright?"

No one said anything. It was nothing unusual to have him insult everyone. He complained about them a lot but deep down, even if he would never admit it in his entire life, he liked this class of fools.

"Alright, you can come in now."

All heads turned curiously towards the door as a figure glided in. The first thing she saw was black hair, spiked in disarray. Her immediate reaction was to roll her eyes. Someone obviously forgot to brush their hair this morning. She returned her gaze and observed. Clear, pale blue eyes. Thin lips. Perfect skin. The figure almost seemed unreal. The girls must have thought so too as they suddenly sat upright in their seats.

Well, that's one way to get their attention Lightning thought to herself, though she will admit that this newbie in front was easy on the eyes. She noticed how he seemed to stand tall yet it didn't make him seem overbearing. He had good posture.

"So you gonna introduce yourself?" Mr T asked.

The new kid just looked at him then at the class. Everyone was waiting for a response. The boys looked at him challengingly, smelling new meat while the girls were on the edge of their seats anticipating to hear him speak. He said nothing though.

"Well?" pressed Mr T impatiently. "You gonna give us your name or what kid?"

Pale fingers picked up a marker from the desk and silently, words were written neatly across the whiteboard.

"Noctis Lucis Caelum."

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_~The things I want to say to you get lost before they're found. The only thing that's worse than one is none.~_

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**A/N: So first of all I am really sorry guys. I haven't been here for what seems like aaages and it seems even longer since I updated anything. Really sorry. I would give you all excuses but it would be too long and seems pretty irrevelant now. The important thing is I haven't forgotten about this fandom...yet.  
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**Anyways I deleted A Walking Contradiction because I thought this idea was better. This story was inspired by "In Between" by Linkin Park. Sort of obsessed with them recently.  
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**Whether I continue this or not completely depends on you. Would you rather me carry on with this or update 'A is for Awkward'?  
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**(there's only a slight problem that the next chapter is stuck on my other laptop which is busted so I will have to rewrite it.)  
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**So I wrote this thing like literally right now so it's pretty short (but when are my chapters long anyway -.-)  
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**I read through it for mistakes but it's almost midnight here and my eyes are giving way so excuse the mistakes for now, I'll re-edit it later.  
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**Cheers you guys!  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or Linkin Park**

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_~Give up your heart left broken  
And let that mistake pass on  
'Cause the love that you lost  
Wasn't worth what it cost  
And in time you'll be glad it's gone_**~  
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Lightning twirled the plastic fork through the tangle of spaghetti on her plate. She didn't feel like eating. One. It hardly looked edible. Two. The new kid was on her mind.

It wasn't that she found him oddly attractive. No, she wasn't that shallow. There was something about him though, was it familiarity? She couldn't quite put a finger on it. However, one thing was for sure, he was, in Serah's terms: Weird.

After he had written his name on the board, he turned around and waited patiently. Mr T just raised an eyebrow and she half expected him to make a comment but he didn't. After a few seconds of awkward silence he told this 'Noctis' to sit wherever he wanted. He made his way to the empty seats available at the back. It was as if everyone was in synch as they automatically turned their heads to watch him. The boys nudged each other with 'what the hell?' looks on their faces while the girls suddenly wished they could adjust their seating positions.

Lightning discreetly lifted her backpack off the floor and placed it on the seat beside her. She enjoyed her space thanks. He must have noticed this as his eyes met hers for the briefest of seconds before glancing away. He settled at a desk on the other side of the classroom.

She felt somewhat guilty but quickly pushed it back.

Guilty for what?

Throughout registration and Physics (both were with Mr T), he hadn't uttered a single word. Not a sound. Lightning watched him from the corner of her eye. He just sat there, blank expression, pen scribbling across an exam pad as he took down notes. He seemed to ignore everything and everyone else. So strange.

Scraping of chairs brought Lightning out of her thoughts. "I swear to you, after they adjusted it and the tape measure had a red reading, sales started to improve."

"It's just all superstition I rate."

Lightning looked up to see her two companions. A questioning look on her face.

"You don't want to know." Fang said, rolling her eyes.

"No, I'm serious Fang. I promise my soul!"

"It's all in the head sweetheart." Fang stated, flicking Vanille's forehead.

"Something to do with Feng Shui again?" Lightning asked in a bored tone.

Her bright orange haired friend gazed at her excitedly. "Yeah, so this guy at my dad's-"

"I don't want to know."

Vanille let out an indignant huff but composed herself. "You guys are seriously terrible, this stuff has been proven. " She settled herself down and checked her phone. "Another one? I've been getting these messages from Rikku all day and they're barely readable. Which reminds me I've been meaning to ask; I heard there's a new student in your class today."

"Hmm news travels fast and that wasn't a question."

"Oh you know what I mean. Of course news travels, Rikku's in your class remember? And it's practically a part of everyone's conversations. Right Fang?"

"Yeah no kidding, just on the way here we heard, "she put on a fake high pitched voice, "_Oh my soul did you see him? He's so hot you could fry bacon on him._ That was an actual quote, no jokes."

Lightning raised an eyebrow. "Right…"

"Don't give me that look, just repeating what I heard." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "So is it true?"

"What?"

"About the new guy silly." Vanille chirped, taking a sip of her apple juice. "We need to be clued up."

Lightning just shrugged. "Didn't notice." She didn't have much to say, let alone admit something so embarrassing.

"Well you're no help" chided Vanille. "I'm so curious now. Where is he? Is he sitting here somewhere?"

"Maybe he's hiding. Those girls in the hallway seemed pretty aggressive." Fang suggested.

"Haha probably poor guy." She shook her head. "On his first day too-oh."

Lightning was about to see what brought out the nervous 'oh' when a hand suddenly landed on her head and ruffled her hair. She had to suppress her instincts to grab it and fling the culprit over her shoulder.

"Sup guys?"

She honestly should have gone with her instincts.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She growled.

"What?" He looked at her innocently and seated himself at their table. "I came to see my friends that's all. Is that so wrong? Haven't spoken to guys in a while."

This guy had to be the biggest idiot in the world, didn't he realise how dangerous this was?

Vanille let out a nervous '_aaw that's sweet_' in an attempt to soothe the situation but it didn't help. Lightning continued to glare daggers at him.

"Get lost Snow." Lightning threatened through clenched teeth, eyes darting around the room to see if the others were watching.

"Relax Light, they're not here today. Most of them partied a little too hard last night after completing a mission."

She tried to ignore how aggravating that nickname sounded coming out his mouth. "And you?"

"Me? I'm a good boy. No partying on weekdays." Snow stretched and rested his hands at the back of his head. He never seemed to be affected by Lightning's aggressive attitude, which is probably why she was even more hostile towards him. "Besides, my mama taught me better than that."

"Your mom is dead."

"Ouch, I know that but I learnt a few things before her passing. I keep them locked away in here. "He placed a large hand over his muscular chest.

"I thought you said you couldn't remember your mom, Snow" Vanille interjected, feeling a tad calmer after hearing the others weren't here.

"I don't really…" he stated " but sometimes I have dreams of her, what she was like and everything. That's got to count right?"

"Definitely. Dreams are our subconscious thoughts. They're probably memories you can only access then." Vanille stated knowingly.

"How wonderful." Lightning commented sarcastically. "Now that we've had an in depth discussion of your dead mother, do us a favour and leave."

"Lightning! That's rude."

"You make it sound like I'm not welcome here." Snow said in mock despair.

"You're not."

"You know what's funny? I almost miss all your insults. This." He gestured towards her and himself. "This brings back memories huh?"

He didn't get an answer as Lightning stood up without a word, hands clenching her tray tightly. She dumped the remains of her almost untouched food into the bin before leaving the cafeteria.

"Uh…" Snow trailed nervously.

Fang threw a piece of carrot at him. "Nice going idiot."

He scratched the back of his head and mumbled apologies while Vanille looked worriedly at her friend's retreating back.

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Lightning took deep breaths while clenching and unclenching her fists. Snow just had to bring back old memories. What an idiot. Unwanted images of that night flashed in her mind. She tried to control her breathing and think of something else as she hurried her pace towards her biology classroom.

Miss Trepe was normally in it or she left it unlocked during breaks. As she got there she saw her teacher sitting at her desk marking papers, she opened the door and walked in. Miss Trepe lifted her head and smiled at Lightning, unsurprised at her entry. Finding it hard to smile back, Lightning just nodded her head and walked straight to the back. Whenever she felt like having some time to herself, she would come here. Miss Trepe never asked any questions and didn't seem to mind. She wouldn't have been able to do this last year since she had Professor Hojo. She got the creeps from being in close proximity with him. He would most likely hover around and interrogate her like the mad scientist he was.

She sat down at her table and immediately pulled out her phone and earphones. Her fingers were already scrolling down her music list as she plugged the earphones in with her other hand. Once she found the song she was looking for she pressed play and let out a sigh. Music was her distraction.

Not too long afterwards, she felt considerably relaxed. She stared out the window into the school gardens, since the Biology department was on the uppermost floor, it had the best view of the school grounds. She mostly focused on the fountain that was built as a miniature replica Cocoon. She watched, seemingly mesmerized as the water trickled down.

She heard a voice and slowly looked up to see if Miss Trepe was talking to her. However she was caught off guard to see him standing there and quickly removed her earphones to listen.

"You're the new student Noctis right?"

He nodded.

"Welcome to Grade 12 Biology. It's a pleasure to have you here. How are you settling in at Palumpolum High?"

He shrugged.

Miss Trepe smiled understandingly. Lightning didn't get it. Didn't she feel the silence as being rude?

"Well class doesn't start until another five minutes so feel free to take a seat. Um, we normally place two at a table. So there's an available seat at the back. You don't have sight problems do you?"

He shook his head.

"Alright, you're lucky today, your partner is also here early. Lightning?" The pink haired girl suppressed a groan as she reluctantly answered her teacher.

"Yes?" She knew what was coming next.

"I finally found you a partner." She gestured to him. "He's new and hopefully won't be too much trouble." She winked at him and he gave a weak smile.

Lightning tried to avoid eye contact as he walked towards her. Somehow she felt that Miss Trepe betrayed her. Was this punishment for her earlier actions? The chair beside her got pulled out and he seated himself. Unable to control herself, she took a glance at him. He looked even better from up close. Damn you brain and your opinions. Just shut up.

He must have felt her gaze on him as he turned to look at her. Her breath hitched. His eyes were a calming blue like the sky peaking through the clouds. His expression was blank at first but then it turned questioning as he tilted his head slightly. She felt a bit embarrassed from getting caught but couldn't bring herself to look away. Might as well make it look like she was meant to. She noticed the faint dark circles below his eyes and wondered how hers compared. She hadn't had a decent night's sleep in forever. They both analysed each other cautiously as boxers did before a fight. The closer she looked at him though the more she realised how much she looked like _him._

_Holy shit._

She couldn't believe it. How could she not have noticed before? Now that she had thought about it, the resemblance seemed even more prominent. Is that why she couldn't stop looking? Images of _him_ flashed through her mind and she began to clench her fingers again. Noctis's face twisted in confusion as he noticed her panicked expression. She looked away quickly shutting her eyes trying to erase the memories.

She plugged in her earphones again and buried her head in her arms, trying extremely hard to ignore him. She could feel his confused gaze on her but she refused to look up. It became even more difficult when the lesson started and she had to put her phone away.

Throughout the whole lesson she felt extremely fidgety. She couldn't concentrate on her work and it frustrated her how her attention would always move towards the person on her right.

Get a grip, Lightning. He's not him. He's not here anymore. You'll be fine. She repeated those words in her head but they did little to calm her down.

She almost shouted in relief when the bell rang and the lesson was over. True to her name, she grabbed her bags and left the classroom in a flash.

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"You okay Light?" Fang asked as she sat herself down next to her. They were in English class now which the three of them shared.

"Yeah, you look like you've seen a ghost." Vanille said shifting her seat around to face them.

"I'm fine." Lightning answered quietly focusing her gaze on her hands.

Fang raised an eyebrow at Vanille who returned a worried expression.

"Um well hey, I talked to Paine in History. You know her right? The girl with short, silver hair that's always around Rikku? Well I asked her about the new guy and she said he was '_okay_'. So now I'm confused. Is this guy hot or not? Because I mean, not that I care much for looks but now that everyone's talking about him, you sort of build high expectations and-"

"Vanille"

"it will just be disappointing-what?"

Fang tilted her head towards the front. Vanille followed and froze. Lightning just sunk further in her seat cursing the world.

"Paine is such a liar!" Vanille whispered furiously to them. "He is not just 'okay'. He's-he's."

"So hot you could fry bacon on him?" Fang suggested amusedly.

"Uh huh. Pinch me because I think I'm dreamin-OW!" She exclaimed and looked at Fang accusingly. "I said pinch not gouge my skin out!"

"My bad."

Vanille rubbed her arm and turned to look at him as he stood talking to the teacher. Well, more like stand there while the teacher talked to him. "I can definitely say he was not disappointing. English should be fun. I wonder if we'll share any more lessons with him?"

She didn't receive a response and looked back at her friends. "Guys?"

Lightning just stared intently at her hands ignoring her. How typical. Fang, however sat with her arms crossed and resting her chin on her fist. Her brows were furrowed in a scrutinizing expression as she faced forwards. It was as if she was trying to figure something out.

"What's wrong Fang?"

"Mm? Oh right. I don't know about you guys, but have you noticed he kind of looks like-"

"Yeah" Lightning cut in. "I've noticed."

It was going to be a long day.

_~Weep not for roads untraveled_  
_ Weep not for sights unseen_  
_ May your love never end_  
_ And if you need a friend_  
_ There's a seat here alongside me_~

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**Big Thanks to: crazyinwonderland, marchenne, , Raikiri80, eclair rouge , G, SniperInTheHouse, myuu**

**Hugs for all of you.  
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**Ha, I updated within the week, don't get too used to it though. Anyways, this took longer to write than I expected, mostly due to distractions ( a friend made me download wechat on my phone)  
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**Don't really have much to say except that I'm sooo tired.  
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**Oh the whole Feng Shui thing was that my parents are really into that stuff and they have this special tape measure with readings to tell you if something is good or bad. You should've seen when we were buying new furniture. The sales people were like : WTH?. =_=  
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**Lyrics are from 'Roads Untraveled' -Linkin Park  
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**I'm looking for a beta reader but I'm too shy to pm one. Anyone willing to be mine?  
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**Peace out  
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	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot**  
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_~I watched you fall apart and chased you to the end_

_I'm left with emptiness that words cannot defend_

_You'll never know what I became because of you_

_Ten thousand promises, ten thousand ways to lose~_

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The music blasted through her ears as she leant against the wall outside the dance studio. Every now and then she would glance into the room of dancing girls, her eyes focusing on her sister. A look of pure concentration painted her face as she tried her hardest to remember the steps. She seemed to be doing fine.

Lightning dashed away immediately after school trying to get far away from it, more particularly, _someone_, and arrived early to wait for Serah. She glanced at her cell phone, pressing the unlock button to see the time. 15:25. Only 5 more minutes. She stared up at the ceiling before closing her eyes again, however, no sooner had she done that, she heard footsteps echoing down the hall. Usually the parents waited in the foyer or cafeteria for the girls due to the lack of space. She opened her eyes to see a teenage boy with a mop of shoulder length brown hair casually striding towards her. He had a jovial air about him which made her wary. She closed her eyes, hoping to avoid conversation. The footsteps stopped a few paces away.

"Hey."

Unfortunately it seemed like he was the conversational type. She groaned internally and peeked at him slightly. He wasn't anyone she had seen before. She was sure of that. He had a friendly smile on his face and seemed a few years younger than she was. He had a back pack swung carelessly over his shoulder indicating to her that he had also just come from school. She grunted in reply.

"This is Yuna Braska's ballet class right?"

Lightning nodded.

"Good good. I wasn't sure. Would've been embarrassing if it wasn't."

In what way would it be embarrassing? She wondered to herself. She didn't respond, hoping for him to get the idea.

"So uh, you're waiting for your sister or something?" Clearly he wasn't catching on.

"Sister."

"Oh yeah? Me too. Today's her first lesson and all. She was kind of reluctant but I eventually managed to convince her. She used to have private lessons back home but I told her that outside school activity is better for her. Especially with other girls. You make friends."

Lightning wanted to retort that she didn't ask for his life story but held her tongue. Instead she scrolled through her phone as a distraction wishing time would pass faster.

"Do you wait here every day?" This boy did not know the art of silence. Normally people knew to steer clear out of her path. She didn't do idle conversations. She didn't like people. She was sure to get that across very clearly. This boy must be as dense as Saturn.

She gave a curt nod again.

"You don't talk much." He stated finally. No shit Sherlock she thought to herself. And the award for slowest processor goes to the boy who needs a haircut besides Snow.

He sighed. "I guess I'm bothering you right? Sorry, I'm just tired of silence."

This caught her attention. Him tired of silence? That had to be a joke. He probably didn't know what it even meant. She watched him fall silent as he slumped on the opposite end of the wall, sticking his hands into his pockets. They both stood, trying to ignore the awkward air that hung around them. It was only a few seconds before he became restless. He started to hum casually while bopping his head which evolved to him clicking his tongue and tapping his foot. It seems like he couldn't keep still.

"Err do you know what-"

Before he could finish asking his question the door burst wide open and the chattering of girls filled the air. Lightning let out a sigh of relief. She was just about to strangle him. They all giggled and glanced at the boy as they bounded through the hallway. Obviously not used to seeing him there. Lightning scanned for her usual image of pink hair which normally was one of the last to come out.

The crowd soon thinned and Serah still hadn't exited. Probably talking to Yuna again.

"Hey Yeul. How was it?" Asked the boy as he backed off from the wall. A girl with silvery blue hair tied up into a neat bun stood in the doorway. Her head was pointed down but she tilted it up to glance at him. It was strange to see such a young, innocent face look so emotionless.

"Did you show them your awesome dance moves? I bet some of them were amazed."

"No" came her voice, barely above a whisper. She slowly passed Lightning, her head facing the ground again.

Lightning's eyes followed the forlorn figure before catching the boy's gaze. Was this his sister? She saw no resemblance between them. He smiled. "Hey Yeul. Meet my new friend, um…" he trailed off not knowing her name yet.

She narrowed her eyes slightly at the mention of 'new friend'. As far as she was concerned they were nowhere close to that. She saw his smile waver at her silence and somehow the good that she buried deep inside her decided to surface.

"Lightning."

He brightened and also raised his brow slightly as if processing her name.

"Right, Lightning. Yeul. Yeul. Lightning." He gestured at his sister who paused to give her a fleeting glance over her shoulder. Her whispered voice answered "Hi" before continuing down the hall.

He gave Lightning an apologetic smile. "Err well I'm Noel by the way. Probably should've introduced myself first." He stretched out his hand for her to shake. She just looked at it unmoving. Seeing that she wasn't going to take it he scratched the back of his head nervously. "So uh, I better be going now. It was nice meeting you, Lightning." He pointed to Yeul who was waiting at the end of the hallway.

"Yeah." she responded keeping her eyes on Yeul who remained looking at the ground. She had never seen someone looking so dejected.

Not too long after the two had left Serah came walking out the class looking very smug.

"Miss Braska said I've been doing really well. So well, that I'll be getting the lead in the next concert."

Lightning took Serah's bag as she held it out. "That's great."

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"That's great, sweetie!" Their mother, Lenna exclaimed as she brought the pot of stew from the kitchen and placed it on the already set table. Her hair that just touched her shoulders, was the same shade of pink as her two girls so it was easy to see where the gene came from.

Serah followed her mom from the kitchen, hardly containing her excitement. "I worked really hard on practising and Yuna-"

"Miss Braska" Lenna corrected.

"Right, Miss Braska said that there was no one else who deserved it as much as I did."

"You definitely deserve it." Lenna stated proudly before patting her head. "Now call your sister for dinner."

"No need." Lightning replied walking into the dining room. She gave a big yawn after spending the remaining afternoon catching up on some sleep.

"Oh good. We might as well start now since your dad's going to be late."

She and Lightning sat themselves down at the table but Serah remained standing, staring hard at the empty seat opposite her.

Oh no Lightning thought, catching her mother's eye.

"Where's Mog's plate?" Serah asked quietly. Whenever she used that voice, it indicated the calm before a storm.

Both of them held their breaths. Lightning wondered if her mom forgot or was hoping Serah wouldn't notice. She felt annoyed. Her sister had sharp eyes, it was hard to get something pass her.

"Look hone-"Lenna started calmly.

"Where. Is. Mog's. Plate?" Serah repeated, her voice getting louder and angrier with every word.

Lenna immediately pursed her lips, not knowing what to say.

"I've got it." Lightning interrupted quickly, trying to save the situation. She got up and sped towards the kitchen where the tension was considerably lower. She let out the breath she was holding and shook her head. Opening a drawer, she hastily grabbed a plate and a spoon ignoring her brain asking her if Moogles even have thumbs, before hurrying back to the table.

Serah still remained standing and her mother was glancing worriedly between her and the entrance way. Her eyes filled with gratitude when she saw Lightning making her way back.

"Here" she called out to Serah as she set the cutlery in front of the empty seat. Serah looked at the placement for a few seconds as if calculating if it was worthy enough. Finally after a tense silence she said, "There you go Mog." She pointed to the seat before looking at the two. "You forgot about him. You should say sorry." She added blankly.

"Sorry Mog," the two apologised in unison to the empty seat.

Serah seemed satisfied with it. "Mog says you're forgiven." She then pulled out her chair and climbed onto it. "Here Mog, I'll serve you." She said, leaning over to get the ladle next to the pot.

Lenna relaxed in relief and helped to lift the heavy lid off the pot. "Be careful, it's hot sweetie."

Lightning let the two dish out. She lost her appetite but decided that it would be better to eat something in order to evade another fuss.

They ate in silence for a while. Serah was all smiles now, giggling at Mog who was apparently a messy eater. Lenna switched between glancing at the clock and her youngest daughter with a sad look in her eyes. Lightning played with her food, pushing it around the plate, trying to kill a few minutes before excusing herself from the table.

The front door being opened broke the silence and brought a sense of relief over the table.

"Honey, I'm hooooome." Their father called out cheerfully. Lightning rolled her eyes. Her dad was too dramatic.

"I can see that." Lenna smiled, amused at her husband's antics.

"Something smells really good in here. Then again, I am starving." Bartz stepped into the room while taking off his jacket. He had a box in his hand. He smiled at them. "Sorry I'm late. Got caught up at the office and traffic didn't help either. But I brought dessert!" He held the box up before passing to Lenna.

"I suppose the dessert is compensation enough. Just come eat. I'll dish up for you."

"Dad! Guess what?" Serah piped up excitedly. Bartz looked over at his youngest daughter.

"Hey Princess! You know me; I'm no good at guessing games."

"I'm getting the lead in the next concert!"

"Wow that's great!" He walked over to her and ruffled her hair. "My little girl's a star huh?"

"Yup." Serah agreed bopping her head.

"Both my girls are in fact." Serah's head stopped bopping.

He walked and sat at the head of the table. "What about you Claire? How was your day?"

"It's Lightning." She corrected annoyed.

"Oh right right. I keep forgetting. So Lightning, you'll never guess who I bumped into at the bakery."

"A guessing game? Really?"

Bartz rolled the sleeves of his shirt and looked at her sheepishly. "True, how hypocritical of me. Well I bumped into your old coach, Jihl Nabaat today."

Lightning hand immediately clenched tighter around her spoon. Memories. That's what that name brought up. Memories of her past life, the one she was trying to forget.

"She asked about you. How you were doing and all. So I told her you were good. Doing well in school."

He paused for a moment to give her an opportunity to say something, but she didn't. He noted how she sat rigidly in her seat, her jaw stiff and eyes firmly planted on the plate in front of her. He treaded carefully as he continued.

"She asked if you were still interested in gymnastics and if you're considering returning to traini-"

"No." Lightning cut in angrily, clutching the spoon even tighter.

"Are you sure?" Bartz asked hopefully. "Jihl said the Academy misses you. They truly lost a star."

"Bullshit." She stated, her tone getting more furious every second. Her thumb began bending the end of the spoon.

"Language Light." Lenna warned from the side while shooting Bartz a threatening look. They both ignored her.

"Have you taken time to think about it though? Maybe going back will be good for you. Take your mind off things. "Bartz pressed on.

"No!"

"I think she has made it clear that she's not interested, Bartz." Lenna tried to interfere sensing her daughter's rising hostility, however her words were drowned out again.

"It would be shame to let all that talen-"

"I fucking said no dammit!" Lightning lashed out slamming her hands onto the table. The dishes on the table rattled with the force. The only sound audible afterwards was her heavy breathing. After her breaths slowed down she marched out the room and her family sat quietly, listening to her stomping footsteps up the stairs before the slam of her door echoed throughout the house.

"Etro Bartz," Lenne sighed exasperatedly leaning her face into her hands. "You really had to start all that again?"

Bartz looked at her with a solemn expression that looked misplaced on his face. "I thought it would be good for her. To go back to how things were. Having a sense of normality."

"It's not as simple as that." She replied, her voice sounding tired.

Serah who had sat through the whole ordeal gripping fistfuls of the table cloth in her hands decided to speak out. "Don't mind her mom, dad. Ballet is a lot better to watch than gymnastics. Plus I'm in the lead."

Her mom just gave her a meek smile while her dad just sighed and rubbed his face. His eyes glanced at the wall on the right where various photo frames hung from the wall. His eyes focused particularly on one of her sister in her younger days. Serah's face fell and her lips pursed into a straight line. She wanted to throw her plate against the wall but if she broke any more dishes, her mom will have cow. She whispered frustratingly to the empty seat in front of her.

"It's always about her isn't it, Mog?"

_~ And you held it all_

_But you were careless to let it fall_

_You held it all_

_And I was by your side_

_Powerless~_

_.  
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* * *

**Big thanks to: Raikiri80, The Clawed Butterfly, G, Mango Marbles and quasi una fantasia.**_  
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**Christmas cookies for you all.  
**

**Some new introductions. Just to let you know, the information revealed in this chapter is all relevant so I'm not just pointlessly rambling.  
**

**Lenna and Bartz are from Final Fantasy V. The only reason I used Lenna was because she was the only other character with pink hair that I could think of and Bartz...well they were from the same game.  
**

**I know it's strange but just bare with me.  
**

**Lyrics from Powerless- Linkin Park. I really love this song.  
**

**I think Moogles do have thumbs since they work in guilds and stuff. Don't know how those stubby arms are able to do anything but they're adorable.  
**

**I should really really work on A is for Awkward now. I'm hoping to update it before the end of the year. Cross fingers.  
**

**Anyways, I saw the leaked trailer for Lightning Returns and pictures on tumblr. All I can say is: WTF is she wearing?  
**

**Oh before I go, do yourselves a favour and follow the link:  
**

misoso .tumblr . **c o m** / post/38318719862/whimmy-bam-reichenballs-mrjackles

**Remove the spaces. If it doesn't work I also posted it on my profile.  
**

**Listen to it. It's beautiful.**

**Happy Holidays everyone!  
**


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